Beginning in September, all state community colleges and universities, including UMass Amherst, will include civil learning as an expected outcome for graduation. This means that they will be putting in place plans to teach students about the United States, it’s history, the traditions of government, other world societies, and the relationship between different cultures and nations.

Each school will be able to come up with their own curriculum, which may include conferences, campus projects, volunteering, or internships.

“I think it’s really important to do more than just what you learn inside the classroom, because while it’s really important what you study for your major, it’s also important to do more for the rest of the world and for the community, and UMass already does a lot for that,” Budzynkiewicz said.

Massachusetts will also be the first state in the nation to measure a student’s civil learning, using methods that are similar to the ways they track students’ academic progress.